Apparently electrical pulses to the brain can make you better at maths – I need some of that.
A new study has found that stimulating the brain with a small electrical current can improve maths skills by up to 28%.
The story was reported in The Telegraph and on the BBC after scientists gave volunteers a short, non painful treatment using electrodes attached to the surface of their head.
Their ability to calculate sums dramatically improved and remained that way for six months.
Dr Roi Cohen Kadosh, a cognitive neuroscientist who led the study at the University of Oxford, told The Telegraph: “The amount of electricity we are applying is very small and totally painless.
“The current appears to enhance the neurons’ ability to process information by making them more efficient.
“We hope that these techniques will one day be used in the clinic, classrooms and even at home to help those who struggle with certain cognitive tasks.”
It works by basically “exercising” the neurons in the brain through the electrical noise, making them stronger and able to work harder.
I want to know where I get hold of one of these machines. Hopefully it is small enough to carry around and I can get it out in the supermarket when I am trying to add up how much I am spending, or attach it to my head when I am trying to beat my own score on a brain teaser game or complete the sudoku.
It would bring a whole new meaning to the phrase: “I am just going to put my thinking cap on.”